A large number of dispensers are known for discharging (i.e. dispensing) liquid, pasty, gellike and powdery media from storage containers. These can be distinguished by two principal systems: those using plungers for pressing purposes and those using pumps for suction purposes. Dispensers of this type are often used in the consumer-article sector, these dispensers including, inter alia, soap dispensers, perfume dispensers and toothpaste dispensers.
At present, these dispensers are frequently installed in hand-held appliances, with the result that repeated refilling of the storage container with free-flowing medium is desirable. An example of such a hand-held appliance is constituted by dispenser-type toothbrushes, as are described in DE 31 04 862 A1. In this document, a toothbrush handle is provided as a storage body for a dentifrice supply, in order to feed dentifrice to a toothbrush head as required. The storage body contains a close-fitting plunger with a central, threaded bore. An outer screw-action head, which can-be actuated by a user, bears a threaded rod, which interacts with the bore in the plunger. Actuation of the screw-action head causes the plunger to move along the rod, with the result that dentifrice is discharged. The disadvantage here is that the threaded plunger rod is highly susceptible to contamination, and air, bacteria and dirt can pass into the dentifrice by way of the piston. Moreover, refilling is complicated and the system, as a whole, is highly susceptible to wear.
DE 4430583 A1 describes a toothpaste dispenser which has a pump for discharging toothpaste in a metered manner and having two parts, the pumping part and the storage container, which can be screwed to one another. This makes it possible to refill the storage container. The storage container contains a follow-on plunger which is sucked in the direction of the pumping part when toothpaste is sucked into the pumping space from the storage container. If the storage container is refilled, the plunger of the storage container is pushed as far as a plunger stop groove at the bottom. This allows the filling to be carried out easily and without any mess. It has, however, proved disadvantageous that the plunger sticks in the storage container, in particular when the dentifrice is pasty or free-flowing.
DE 3837704 C2 describes a dispenser with a metering pump for discharging metered quantities of pasty substances such as toothpaste, ointment or the like from bottles or can-like containers. Located in the container is a follow-on plunger which is inserted into the open bottom of the container. By virtue of the pasty substance being subjected to suction by the metering pump, the follow-on plunger is likewise subjected to suction and feeds the pasty substance remaining in the container in the direction of the metering pump. The plunger described here may also stick, as a result of which the functional reliability of the dispenser is vastly restricted.